Beer Advocate

While I do subscribe to and greatly enjoy reading every single word of the very-excellent Beer Advocate magazine, the mag’s Internet home base is also an essential resource for me and anyone else interested in exploring the ever-increasing selection of craft beers. The No. 1 feature is, of course, the extensive archive of beer ratings, both by the site’s devoted users and by the founding bros, Jason and Todd Alström. If you find yourself staring blankly at the beer case, not knowing whether to spend six bucks on that big bottle of Hopporunity Knocks by Caldera Brewing Co., just look it up—score of 82 (out of 100) based on 63 reviews—and proceed with confidence. In addition to being searchable, the reviews are organized in very useful ways: by style and by brewery (with top-rated examples listed), and in a Top Beers master list of the best 100 beers in the world. The site also features ratings and descriptions of breweries and beer-related businesses, useful beer-education tools (style explanations, proper glassware tips), plus extensive beer forums and a calendar of beer-centric events happening across North America. There are other good online beer resources (RateBeer.com is one), but the Alström brothers have created a fun, relaxed, interactive site with enough character to warm up the cold Internet.